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Bert Schneider

Having emerged during Hollywood's new wave of the late 1960s and early 1970s, iconoclastic producer Bert Schneider was responsible for shepherding some of his time's most heralded classics. After partnering with director Bob Rafelson to create the pop culture phenomenon, "The Monkees" (NBC, 1966-68), Schneider entered the film business with The Monkees' disappointing feature debut, "Head" (1968), which marked the beginning of his fruitful collaboration with Jack Nicholson. With his next film, "Easy Rider" (1969), he helped usher in the New Hollywood era with the counterculture classic that was one of the biggest hits of the year while turning Nicholson into a major star. Schneider worked with the actor again on the Academy Award-nominated drama, "Five Easy Pieces" (1970), before producing Peter Bogdanovich's masterpiece "The Last Picture Show" (1971). After bankrolling Nicholson's rather disappointing directing debut, "Drive, He Said" (1972), Schneider won an Oscar for his Vietnam War documentary, "Hearts and Minds" (1974). He went on to produce several additional movies before working on Terrence Malick's exceptional "Days of Heaven" (1978). Schneider left Hollywood after "Broken English" (1981) to focus on battling political causes and his drug addiction, leaving behind a short, but lasting legacy as one of New Hollywood's great producers.